Linda Simensky

Linda Simensky is an American business executive. She served as a creative executive for Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

Early life

Simensky grew up in Union Township, [Union County, New Jersey|Union, New Jersey] and graduated from Union [High School (New Jersey)|Union High School] in 1981 and University of Pennsylvania in 1985.

Career

Simensky received the June Foray Award in 2000.
On October 28, 2003, the Public Broadcasting Service appointed Simensky the position of senior director of children's programming.
In 2021, she joined Duolingo as head of animation and scripted content.

Views of gender in animation

In the 2008 book, Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics, Simensky stated that many male animators find difficulty in creating strong, positive female characters with substance that can serve as role models. When she questioned the creators of Rocko's Modern Life, one of the series which she produced, why the women in the series were invariably drawn to be well-endowed, she was told that the animators believed that drawing women "the traditional way" was easier. Simensky described the creators as "talented guys" who formed "a boy's club" and added that "we pushed them to be funny, but a lot of their women are stereotypical."

Accolades

Simensky was named in Animation Magazine's "Top 10 Most Influential People in Animation" list in January 2002.